Daily Dog Meals - Raw Feeding

[Julee]

7oz doesn't sound like fun. Some of the tiny dog meals I see are ridiculous, though... very little pieces of everything under the sun!

Looking forward to it, straw!

On today's menu: beef tendon, salmon, beef liver and pork neck.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/22671499587/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5634/22671499587_6745b8d725_z.jpg" width="640" height="640" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/23076245282/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5705/23076245282_aaf0eaa26d_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/22671490058/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5807/22671490058_a8dd705c7b_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[straw]

Do you feed them outside year-round?

I have a 2x2 waterproof mat that Venice is preeeetty good about keeping her food on, so she ate inside once it got cold.

 

[Julee]

Usually. I'll feed thawed so they can eat faster during the winter, but it's not cold or snowy here yet. If it's too much for them outside, they're trained to eat in the bathtub!

 

[amberdyan]

Usually. I'll feed thawed so they can eat faster during the winter, but it's not cold or snowy here yet. If it's too much for them outside, they're trained to eat in the bathtub!

That's hilarious and awesome. I do raw as a treat sometimes, if I find a good sale I'll substitute one of his meals with something gross and tasty. He loves it, but he would totally carry it around the house if I would let him. When he gets raw he has to eat it in his crate (it's oversized for him so he has plenty of room) and then I just spray and wipe down the crate floor.

Also, I'm jealous that your dogs will eat fish. Hugo loves fish flavored treats so I can't for the life of me figure out why he won't eat raw fish. There are people who pretty reliably sell raw fish for cheap but I've tried 3 or 4 times and he won't eat it. Not tuna or catfish anyway.

 

[Julee]

Em hates fish! She'll only eat it frozen.

I'd feed in crates, but I don't have enough set up. Bathtub it is.

 

[Stillwater]

Makes my teeth hurt just thinking about eating anything frozen.

 

[Julee]

Whole prey Wednesday:
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/22503449813/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5731/22503449813_67ffc64eaa_z.jpg" width="512" height="640" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/23098614256/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/638/23098614256_c9b1b33cb5_z.jpg" width="587" height="640" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Yesterday was cold and dreary, so they had some The Honest Kitchen samples to warm up after exercise. Yes, I add extra water. Left is Bloo (pollock and coconut), middle is Zelda (beef), right is Em (pollock and coconut + turkey and parsnip).
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/23118131626/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5788/23118131626_8531b72331_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Today: Em got a pig's foot, chicken hearts, beef kidney and liver, and an egg. Bloo got a pig's foot, chicken hearts, beef kidney and liver. Zelda got beef kidney and liver, chicken hearts, and eggshell powder (used in place of bone).

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/23118136236/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/587/23118136236_5cf5895036_z.jpg" width="578" height="640" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/22750102627/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/780/22750102627_5c300a40f5_z.jpg" width="640" height="527" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[DanL]

Yeah I'm jealous of how much you feed. When you're only working with 7oz a day, variety is hard to fit in!

I do a "variety over time" method. They don't need every nutrient every day. So with our pug, who gets about 9oz a day, I mix it up for him. One day might be a chicken thigh, the next could be ground venison, etc.

 

[Julee]

Yep, I do it this way just for fun. I'm too poor for sports right now so this is my hobby LOL

 

[JessLough]

I do a "variety over time" method. They don't need every nutrient every day. So with our pug, who gets about 9oz a day, I mix it up for him. One day might be a chicken thigh, the next could be ground venison, etc.

Oh, yes! We do the same, though more like "variety with every paycheck" option. Just buy different things every other week when I stock up for him. So one week he'll be doing chicken wings for bone in, the next rabbit.

It just looks so fun the other way!

 

[straw]

So question for anyone feeding raw:

If you buy in bulk or prep several weeks of food in advance, what's your portioning system?

I was using tupperware when I started but scrapped that quickly. Instead I'd portion out the food (necks, slices of meat/organs/heart etc,) wrap each individual portion in plastic wrap so they didn't stick together, and fill a heavy duty ziploc freezer bag.

So I'd basically have big ziploc bags full of different things (no variety in a bag, it would be either a bag of heart, or a bag of liver, etc etc) lined up in my freezer and I'd just pick and choose what to take out for the next meal.

I think it worked well because I could reach in and grab small portions of things easily to thaw, but it did take a while to prep and I felt wasteful using so much plastic wrap. But I HATE when things are frozen together and I have to friggin beat a hunk of meat against the corner of the freezer to break stuff off.

 

[GoingPostal]

It depends on what it is. Chicken quarters I get in 10 pound bags so I thaw one in the sink when I need it. I'll pack glad containers or freezer bags with what I can't use in a couple days. Organs I get in 40# blocks and I try to chop in approx 3# chunks, I freeze on trays and then bag. Pork hearts, boneless scrap meat usually go in gallon bags. Normally to feed I will grab one bag of bone in, one bag of boneless and a chunk of organ. That will feed my 3 dogs for 3-4 days. Then swap for different proteins for the rest of the week.

I throw the bags in the sink and let them thaw out overnight when I need them. I worked out of town for most of this year and bought a couple weeks worth of glad containers that hold 3+ pounds so a days worth here and I would prep a week or so in advance every Sunday so my husband could feed them easily. Now I'm back to my lazier method.

 

[straw]

Sooo I had nothing to do so I made a little spreadsheet to help keep myself on track. Realistically I will be all gung ho about this for a week and then will probably forget to use it, but hey, it was kinda fun to make and might help someone else.

So basically lefthand side will be a legit table but lays out 14 days of meals since I want to plan to balance things out over that time frame. I won't feed a food in every category every day. And righthand side was just me listing a variety of things from each category I could feed in case I needed ideas. All dependent of course on if I can get them locally or for a reasonable price.

 

[Bruschnazzy]

I love these types of threads. I looked through many, many pages of this type of threads in the past.

 

[DanL]

We use the bottom shelf of the fridge for the dog's food, we have a nice big tupperware type tray we use to keep it from being a mess. Whatever we're feeding at the time is stored there. We have a chest freezer in the garage that we have divided in half, between dog and people food. I have a bunch of meaty deer bones, bags of chicken, pigs feet, beef heart, liver, ground deer and other stuff like that out there. I take out what I need for a few days, like a bag of chicken and a few blocks of deer burger, and use it til it's gone.

I don't bother portioning out food in advance, I do it at feeding time. I have a kitchen scale and I weigh out what each dog gets and then feed it to them in their individual place. Gunnar goes to the garage, Nola in her crate, and Bruzer either on the back porch or in his crate depending on the weather.

 

[Julee]

I laughed really hard, straw. A++

This weekend has been pretty boring.

Saturday:
Bloo: boneless venison and turkey wing
Zelda: boneless venison and turkey wing
Em: bone in venison + some boneless

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/22548571733/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5786/22548571733_ac0347d6a7_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Sunday:
Zelda: bone in venison
Bloo: boneless venison and a turkey drumstick
Em: boneless venison and a turkey drumstick

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/22585982964/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/610/22585982964_09e7989299_z.jpg" width="640" height="527" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Julee]

Monday:

Everyone got varying amounts of beef heart, boneless chicken, and chicken necks.

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/22631423954/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/626/22631423954_e67b9d3415_z.jpg" width="512" height="640" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/23259852955/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5658/23259852955_85d21ec9d0_z.jpg" width="640" height="424" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Tuesday:
Everyone got varying amounts of ground bison (each patty is 4oz - Zelda got one, Bloo and Em each got two), pork liver, chicken necks, and an egg.

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/22881376037/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/638/22881376037_0fd3f2cc6a_z.jpg" width="640" height="640" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/22647050934/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5777/22647050934_d8f5af817b_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>




We are being gifted with about 100lbs of venison scraps today!

 

[Julee]

Sorry for the lack of posts, we've been in the middle of moving! Lots of venison gifted to us, which my wonderful boyfriend kindly butchered for me.

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/23636872412/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5827/23636872412_f8fc232001_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Thinly sliced beef, ground pork, beef kidney, turkey back:
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/23118561223/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/685/23118561223_fa8acbb940_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Lamb shoulder, turkey hearts, turkey livers, boneless chicken:
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/23663009751/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5706/23663009751_0d623d2139_c.jpg" width="699" height="800" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Turkey back, beef heart:
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/41241795@N04/23377434989/in/dateposted-public/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/762/23377434989_c9de1d3687_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[SizzleDog]

We use the bottom shelf of the fridge for the dog's food, we have a nice big tupperware type tray we use to keep it from being a mess. Whatever we're feeding at the time is stored there. We have a chest freezer in the garage that we have divided in half, between dog and people food. I have a bunch of meaty deer bones, bags of chicken, pigs feet, beef heart, liver, ground deer and other stuff like that out there. I take out what I need for a few days, like a bag of chicken and a few blocks of deer burger, and use it til it's gone.

I don't bother portioning out food in advance, I do it at feeding time. I have a kitchen scale and I weigh out what each dog gets and then feed it to them in their individual place. Gunnar goes to the garage, Nola in her crate, and Bruzer either on the back porch or in his crate depending on the weather.

My setup is basically the same. I thaw 30-35# at a time and just plop it into bowls for mealtimes. I'm bad - I don't even weigh meals anymore - I just fill the bowls until the weight feels right for each dog, and adjust based on body condition.

 

[Julee]

I do the same, though I don't thaw that much at a time.